


A Pound of Cure

by Warpony



Series: Feral Echoes [7]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Diamonds, Gen, Jewelry, Magic, Nicodranas, Shopping, Situational Mutism, revivify
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23982823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warpony/pseuds/Warpony
Summary: There are so many things far more important than gold and platinum coins.* * * * *Part of a larger WIP involving a D&D Original Character and the Critical Role Mighty Nein.
Series: Feral Echoes [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711534
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	A Pound of Cure

Nicodranas had been a beautiful sight before. Now... now it was even more so. He'd so desperately been ready to get off the ocean. He'd had his fill of it for now. 

Brunnera blamed all their recent misfortune on the ocean. It was far easier to pretend an abstract entity was the source of all their troubles. Avantica. Uk'otoa. Darktow. Twiggy. The Happy Fun Ball. The dragon.

The firbolg fighter had a long list of beasts, monsters and humanoids he had fought and slain in the colosseum pits. He remembered them all and the points of weakness he'd had to find by trial and error or memory. When all you had to focus on was your own survival to the next match it was a bit of a compulsion to maintain and repeat that list over and over in his head. Giant insects had soft underbellies. The undead were best dismembered quickly so they couldn't move. Yeth Hounds needed to be waited out until dawn and the sun would destroy them. Flail Snails needed to be tricked into showing their tentacles to be cut away. Harpies had to be picked off from the flock and cutting away their wings was the quickest means to that end.

Most things generally went down if they were decapitated, disemboweled or their spine was severed.  
  
Most. Not all.  
  
Dragons were not on that list.

When he tumbled into the treasure chamber through the stained glass window and saw a dragon before them a maw of fear and the unknown yawned open wide within him. It had been a long while since he'd faced a mystery and the unsurity of the future threatened to choke him. He hadn't been so afraid since before escaping the gladiator String. They'd been in a kill box, caged in with far more than they could handle and death imminent. They'd survived but he still got a little queasy at thinking how Jester had been cornered by the dragon and fire elemental. How bitterly close of a call it had been.

It only seemed a moment in time from there onto the next misadventure.

Tumbling right into Dashilla's lair of drowned ghosts and arcane storms. The second of Uk'otoa's seals guarded by a slew of giant crabs. Then a botched attempted by another pirate ship to over take them. 

Even Fjord seemed to have had enough of the ocean by then. 

Faked papers, disguises and a little smooth talking saw the _Ball-Eater_ turned over to Orly and docked in the Restless Warf. Brunnera was grateful to be back on solid earth and breathed in the spiced air of Nicodranas. Around him all the Nein seem to breathe again. The fighter can't help but smile when he surprises the rest of his friends that he wants to wander on his own for errands. Its only a promise to meet up later at the Lavish Chateau that he's able to gently extract himself to go alone. 

Brunnera set off with a mission in mind. He'd been thinking on a project for awhile and saving every spare coin he had to fund it. Their seabound adventures had only cemented the idea for him. It wasn't that he was keeping a secret of any kind, he just didn't want to disappoint anyone if he couldn't manage it just yet or the whole idea flopped all together. 

It took a little time, asking a few locals for suggestions and directions, before Brunnera found what he was looking for. He was even able to proudly read the shop sign himself. The fighter had to admit that endless hours at sea had served him in some small way; giving Jester, then Caleb as well, plenty of time to begin teaching him how to read and write.

" _Be...witch...ing Baub... Baubles..._." He murmured to himself a few times before stepping into the small jeweler's shop. He had to duck his head just a bit as he looked around the room. There was a loop of low cases with glass fronts and stone counter tops. Shelves filled with raw, rough cut, tumbled and grade cut gems and jewels. The soft, distinct smell of smelting metal mixed with thick cedar, sandalwood and leather. Pieces of finished jewelry were on display on bits of folded, dusty velvet. 

A lady gnome and male dwarf sat behind one of the counters, sharing apple slices and reading a book between them. They looked up... and up and up... at him as the firbolg fighter padded over. They watched him warily and only relaxed just a bit when he offered a lopsided smile. 

"Is the... jewel smith... here?" He asked, trying his best to make his words flow more easily for these strangers. He swallowed down a bubble of threatening mutism as his hopeful mood colored a bit with shame and anxiety. He held his ground. 

This was to important to give up. 

"Aye, that's us." The lady gnome chirped, sliding off her stool and smoothing her chocolate colored hair back, tying it up. "I'm Natelle. This is Vodal. We're the crafters and owners sure enough."

The fighter touched his chest with a soft thump. "Brunnera."

"Nice to meet ya, Mr. Brunnera. Big fella, aren't ya. Somethin' ya looking for in particular?" Vodal asked in a gruff but not unkind voice, setting aside their book and apple. He smoothed down his silvery streaked, blonde beard and set a fine set of wire glasses on his nose.

The fighter shifted to sit down on his side of the counter, a habit he'd started to pick up with the Nein. Any time they stopped for more than a few moments or he had to explain something he knelt or sat, bringing himself down enough that even Nott was able to be on a more included level. Brunnera dug into his pack until he found a few pieces of paper folded together, carefully kept dry to preserve the ink and charcoal sketches. He carefully unfolded them and set it all on the counter. "Take comiss... commissions?"

Vodal and Natelle leaned forwards curiously. 

"That we do." Natelle said reaching out, spreading and turning the papers a bit to better see. "Lookin' for a fancy cuff bracelet for yourself?"

Brunnera shook his head with a soft chuff, "Not me... my family... "

He pointed to one of the drawings, it was a rough design but showed the desired hidden compartments along the outside of the cuff. 

"Interestin'. Very interestin'. For yer family, ya said? Hide extra coins or summat?" Vodal asked curiously. 

The fighter shook his head again. "Diamonds."

The gnome and dwarf looked up at him then at one another. Vodal's face had softened immensely. He reached under the counter to pull out a sketch pad, a bit of marked tape and pencils. "Now that's a fine pursuit, Mr.Brunnera. Yer family the adventurin' types I expect?"

He nodded, his ears swayed in worry he couldn't help. "Lost one... already..."

"Never again, laddie. Need say no more." Natelle patted his hand gently. "We certainly can do our best to help with that. Tell us a bit more what you were thinking?"

Brunnera spent the next hour carefully describing what he had in mind, holding our both arms to be measured a watching as Vodal jotted down notes and measurements and estimates of material before sketching out a design. 

Natelle hustled around the shop, gathering a few different cuffs and bracelets, several raw, uncut diamonds, and bars of different metals and bringing them over. 

"I have to say, laddie, yer fur looks much finer against hammered silver than gold." She observed, holding two different bars of metal against his forearm. 

Brunnera's ears swayed a bit. "...Diamonds most important...the coin..."

He wasn't sure how to relay to them that he only had so much to spend. He knew he wouldn't have enough for the cuff and all the diamonds he wanted to fill it all at once, but he wanted to get as many at he could. He would empty his pockets without hesitation, but it didn't mean it would be enough. 

"Copper would look fine as well." Natelle reassured kindly, holding a bit of copper against his fur. "Safer, too. Bandit types would be less keen on it. All the same we'll make sure the gems are well hidden."

"They'd be mad to go after a big fella like ya anyhow." Vodal grumbled. "Listen, Mr.Brunnera. This is a fine idea. And we have a war upon us-"

That made the fighter cock his head a bit in confusion, but it must not have showed on his face. He knew abstractly that Empire and the Dynasty were at odds, murmurs of war had been going on for years. But hearing someone actually say aloud that war was imminent was different.

"-this little trinket could become quite the commodity for clerics and the like. Ya give us permission to patent it and we'll give ya a fine deal."

"Diamonds?" Brunnera asked.

"Aye, we can do ya a bit of a favor on that, too. Got a fair few raw diamonds that won't polish up fancy but they'd suit yer purpose just as fine and be worth what ya need."

Brunnera nodded eagerly. 

"I'm a bit excited, Telly." Vodal admitted with a smile as the dwarf made up a quick, easy contract that released Brunnera's design to them. He read it slowly but surely and managed to scratch out his name. 

"Me too, Dally." She responded with a smile.

They sat just a bit longer, working out a price. Brunnera knew he wasn't the best at bargaining but knowing how much the diamonds alone would cost he turned over nearly all his money without a breath of regret. The pair of craftsmen further bargained for another diamond in trade for some of the Dakotaraptor teeth he had in his coin purse. 

"Mr. Brunnera, ya come back in tomorrow afternoon and we'll have it done for ya. Don't have any projects waitin'. And do us a favor, bring that family along with ya?" Vodal asked, "I'd like to make sure they appreciate ya."

Brunnera chuffed and nodded before slowly getting to his feet, avoiding bumping his head and slipping out of the shop. He felt a bit lighter, prouder and hopeful as he made his way back to the Lavish Chateau as promised. 

Curiosity got better of the Nein that evening and they ventured back out under the pretense of shopping to snoop around Tidepeak Tower a bit more. Leave it to Caduceus to be wise enough to simply knock and inquire about an appointment to the slightly stuffy but well dressed goblin footman. 

The giant fish Fjord bought was pretty delicious at least. Which was difficult to admit considering how much fish they'd eaten on the _Ball-Eater_ the last few weeks.

Breakfast was better in Brunnera's opinion and he'd quietly snuck a fair few of the biscuits and pastries into his pack. He was glad for it later that morning as most of the Nein loitered outside of Tidepeak Tower while Caduceus and Beau finagled their way in and bargained a tenative partnership with Yussa Errenis. He'd shared them around as they waited before being summoned into the Tower's sitting room. Caleb was led away to look over the Teleportation Circle and they left the Happy Fun Ball behind. After the dragon incident Brunnera wasn't heart broken to see it go, though he did understand the implications of leaving that kind of object in the hands of a near stranger. At least the dodecahedron was still safely tucked in Jester's pink pack.

Brunnera beckoned the Nein along, leading them through the streets of Nicodranas towards the jeweler's shop. They planned and plotted as they walked; the talk of the war encroaching from Xhorhas and Nott's desire to check on her old friend Yeza it was decided they would strike out for Felderwin in the morning. 

On reaching Bewitching Baubles, Brunnera held open the door so the whole of the Nein could make their way in. The fighter could hear Natelle laughing merrily at the mismatched crowd before he squeezed his way in behind the rest of the party and made way to the counter from the day before. Nott was scurrying around excitedly but Fjord was staying close behind watching her while Jester squeaked and squealed at different items in the cases, pulling Caleb along to point at different stones and quiz him on arcane properties versus attractiveness. Caduceus and Yasha scanning the shop curiously 

"Is this where you snuck off to yesterday, Brunny?" Beau asked curiously. 

The fighter nodded and looked towards Vodal, who was smiling bemusedly. "I supposed I did ask ya to bring em." 

Introductions made their way around before the dwarf reached under the counter to bring out a large box. He flipped the lid back and scooped out six roughly polished diamonds and the metal cuff Brunnera had commissioned. 

It was nearly the size of a bracer, the hammered copper exterior lined and edged with soft, brown leather and cleverly designed set of grommets that when it was laced properly the cuff would almost look as if it was a single piece of copper.

"Hope ya don't mind the bit of flare we added for ya." Vodal shrugged, turning the cuff over to show the main structure. 

"My idea, of course." Natelle said proudly. "Much better than some boring old grid. Next one I think a phoenix though, with the feathers as the pockets."

The outside of the cuff was multilayered with the rise and fall of mountain peaks, etched artfully and lightly brushed in places with acid to make the copper shine with a tint of blue or purple. 

"Hides the compartments a bit better honestly." Vodal admitted and demonstrated each of the nine hidden pockets in the mountain design, showing Brunnera and the rest of the Nein as they crowded around how to open, close, lock and unlock each space with a careful slide one way or another. Almost in a kind of sliding puzzle but simple enough to be manipulated without trying to hard. Each small compartment was lined with a thin layer of the same brown leather. Brunnera took the cuff carefully, trying out each mechanism before insisted it was passed around and the Nein each had a chance to try. 

"This is, well, this is really neat." Caduceus rumbled as he handed the cuff over to Yasha. 

The barbarian, like all the others, manipulated the compartments easily enough. "Its very nice... what... whats it for?"

Brunnera took the cuff back, setting it down so all of the party could see as he opened one of the compartments and neatly tucked one of the diamonds in before shutting it again. The diamond was perfectly hidden and safe in the cuff. 

"Wait a second..." Beau reached and picked up one of the diamonds, turning it over. "Are these all Revivify diamonds?"

"Three hundred gold's worth each." Vodal promised. "Cut them ourselves. Been callin' it a 'Revivicuff'. Catchy, I think."

"Nine." Brunnera said as he took the next diamond back from Beau and placed it and the remaining four in different compartments of the cuff, closing them all up. Moving it around no noise came from the bracer, the hidden gems within padded safely against sound and damage. "Only six... right now... but nine later... and always after.... one for each of... of us... and an extra... Just in case."

Jester practically shoved Fjord out of the way to get to Brunnera and threw her arms around his neck in a strangle hold of a hug. Brunnera choked just slightly before smiling and put an arm around to pat her on the back. 

"Wow." Caduceus grinned, "That's just... I don't really know what to say to that."

"Brunny... thats amazing." Fjord drawled, hesitating for just a moment then moving in to hug the fighter on the other side. 

"Totally dope." Beau grinned but folded her arms across her chest. Brunnera had learned over time that this particular move from the monk was her trying to hold herself back in front of strangers. 

Brunnera just smiled a little bashfully and chuffed, letting go when Fjord and Jester backed away. The tiefling cleric was rubbing her eyes a little and clasped her hands tightly in front of her. "You guys, I think Brunny really cares about us, yanno?" 

The fighter huffed a small laugh, reaching out to ruffle her hair and horns gently. He tried to work up a few words but they died in his throat so the fighter just nodded reassuringly.

Caleb carefully moved to pick up the cuff and reached for a coil of waxed leather lace Vodal offered him. Caleb motioned a little and Brunnera stretched out an arm to him. Diligently, without looking up, the wizard neatly fit the cuff to Brunnera's arm, threaded the grommets and laced it up in place. The fighter stayed perfectly still, he very much understood what Caleb was trying to say through the action and avoiding speaking at all. 

The wizard carefully tied a secure knot at the end and tucked the lace out of sight. His hand rested on the the bracer for a moment longer before he tucked them tightly back into his pockets. 

Brunnera turned to Vodal and Natelle, he dipped his head in deep respect. "Thank you for... helping me keep... them safe..."

Vodal was rubbing a bit suspiciously at his eyes and clearing his throat roughly. Natelle hugged the dwarf around the shoulders. "You just make sure to come back soon. We'll make you one to match for the other arm."

"Try not to use it to often." Vodal grumbled a bit. 

"We'll try." Brunnera promised.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for the "Revivicuff" popped up after I'd already started writing into this series. It's pretty common for a cleric or paladin to carry a diamond or two or any other Revivify charged items with them but it's not very often that I've heard/read/seen other characters being charged with at the very least having their own revivify diamond on their person just in case. Brunnera's a pretty big guy and I was turning over and over different armaments or designs that would be easy access and be able to hold a lot of diamonds and be something you have on your person at almost all times. A bracer offered pretty easy access and if he wanted more he could get a second one in the future.
> 
> This is a homebrew ideas but it actually hasn't been something I've fiddled with outside of this particular AU. He's going to be pretty religious about making sure it's always full to capacity and replacing used diamonds whenever he needs to. 
> 
> Brunnera does suffer from Selective/Situational Mutism. It's hard to portray that through writing but I hope it's coming across in some ways.
> 
> This was fun because I got to write in NPCs and I love doing world building and NPC stuff so I enjoyed putting this all together. It kept me going pretty late to get finished just cause it's fun to write side characters. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed.


End file.
